Exogenous nitric oxide reduces postharvest anthracnose disease and maintains quality of custard apple (Annona squamosaL.) fruit during ripening

Custard apple is the most delicious fruit of tropical and subtropical areas. The storage life of custard apple is very limited due to fast ripening and attack of several diseases after harvesting. Anthracnose caused by the fungusColletotrichum gloeosporioidesis the most damaging postharvest disease of custard apple. The effects of postharvest nitric oxide (NO) treatment on anthracnose disease and quality of custard apple were investigated in this study. The fruit were dipped in 50, 100 and 200 mu M sodium nitroprusside (SNP), the NO-donor compound, and stored for 8 days at 25 degrees C. The results showed that custard apple treated with 100 mu M SNP treatment significantly reduced anthracnose disease incidence (97.25%) and disease severity (92.88%) after 8 days of storage. However, SNP did not exhibit substantial effect on mycelial growth and spore germination ofC. gloeosporioides. Custard apple treated with SNP effectively reduced weight loss and total soluble solids. SNP treatment retained a higher level of firmness, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid and total phenolics compared to the control fruit. Additionally, the same treatment enhanced DPPH and FRAP antioxidant activities of custard apple. These results indicated that exogenous NO treatment could be a promising approach to increase resistance against fungal pathogens and maintain postharvest quality of custard apple.

Automated summary

The study showed that treatment with 100 μM sodium nitroprusside (SNP) significantly reduced anthracnose disease incidence and severity in custard apple, while also maintaining fruit quality and antioxidant activities. This suggests that exogenous nitric oxide treatment could be a promising approach to enhance resistance against fungal pathogens and preserve postharvest quality in custard apple.